Lightning Legs!

How on earth I managed to run so fast this morning is beyond me! I actually ran one of my kilometer repeats at a 4:48 pace! I don’t think I have ever held such a fast pace for so long. I am even more amazed as I did not sleep very well and it had been quite a while since my coffee. On top of that is my tweaked knee which manifested itself, with a little help from me being silly, on Sunday. The physio says it’s minor though, so all is okay 🙂

I am still sitting at $25 on my fundraising page and have put out another appeal on Facebook to my friends to support me in this endeavour. Any tips from anyone who has fund raised before for an event are gratefully appreciated! I am really hoping to hit my $500 goal and have 8 weeks left.

Short and sweet today…I have been up since 4.30am and my brain is not working as well as it could. Or maybe I ran all the energy out of myself! I am not a spring chicken anymore!

The Day After Day 3!

Yesterday I did an easy run, well it was supposed to be, but for some reason it felt hard. I was aiming for a 6:30 pace and ended up doing a 6:38 pace. This is not a good start to my training schedule that should take me to that sub 2hr half marathon time! Well, at least that’s what my head is saying to me. And yes, I do know that logically one can’t always perform the way one wants, but isn’t that just like a runner? Always trying too hard? Or is it just me?

Anyway, on the fundraising front I still have just the one donation…..feeling a little despondent about that……But I shall just keep plodding along. I am doing my bit by training…..

This weekend we are off to Wellington shortly for two nights. I have managed to change my hours at the gym so I am now only working one in four Saturdays which frees up some time and consequently I am feeling much more relaxed. That’s a good thing (of course). So I shall be away from my computer until Monday evening and therefore won’t be writing anything until then. Tomorrow morning I am doing a 13km run and I am hoping the weather in Wellington will be better than it is in Auckland right now!

Until then…stay dry everyone!

Day Two…..Which Was Yesterday!

My apologies for not updating my blog yesterday. It was a very long day. I was up at 4.30am to get to the gym for a 5.30am PT client, and was there all day until 5.30pm! When I got home it was dinner time and then one last PT session until 8.30pm, at which point I was brain dead! At least I got my run in 🙂

Yesterday’s run was a tempo run. 8km with 5km at tempo of 5:40 pace. I ended up doing a 5:28 pace, too fast but what the heck. My goal is to come in under the 2hr mark for the Auckland Half marathon so I need to push myself a little. I do have a little SI niggle which I am monitoring. It’s not bad, just feel it in my butt when I am running and I am seeing the physio for it. I have had numerous niggles over the last year, I think it is a result of all the training. It has made me rethink my constant racing schedule, and I am aware now that as I get older I need to train smarter, which means more stretching and rolling and perhaps not so much of the racing! But I am committed to this race as of course I have my fundraising goal and now have had my first donation of which I am very proud

It is the first time I have raised anything for a cause, and I am sure there will be more donations to come. In case you are just joining me on this journey today, I am raising money for the Guide Dogs NZ. I decided that this time when I ran a race I would do it for a reason other than self fulfillment. You access my fundraising page here.

Today’s training is a strength session, and I am feeling less than enthusiastic. I started off with a scratchy throat last night and headache this morning. I am feeling a bit better now, so I will suck it up and do it soon. Then tomorrow I run again…..I never seem to mind that 🙂 What is it about running? Why do we get so addicted?

Day One Of Training

Today marks the official start of my Auckland Marathon training, and although I vowed to stick to my schedule, I have already gone off track. I was supposed to do 6.5km this morning and ended up doing 7.59km instead. I sort of went a little too far on my route and ended up too far down the road! At least it wasn’t less I guess. So on Friday I will cut  my easy run down by one kilometer to balance things out.

I went off this morning as the sun was coming up, what a great time to run. it certainly gets your spirits lifted being outdoors at that time of the day. The only problem I had was a somewhat full full tummy after eating a Chunky Monkey Muffin and downing a flat white in preparation for a 6am PT client who then cancelled their session. Next time I have eaten one of these muffins I will certainly wait at least 90mins for it to digest as they are definitely a meal on their own. I spent the first half of my run burping and feeling like there was…..well…..a muffin sitting in my stomach!

On the fundraising front I have already raised $25 towards my $500 goal for the Guide Dogs. Yay! Thanks to one of my friends who has kicked off the pot. I am feeling really good about it as this is the first time I have personally raised anything for charity. Here’s to the goal being met 🙂

Today I have set myself another challenge for 24 hours after reading a post one of my friends had put on Facebook: No complaining about anything for 24 hours! I’ll let you know how that went tomorrow. For now, that’s me! Have a great day and happy running if that’s what you do.

Just finished the Melbourne Age Run 21.1 in July

Oh my…..

Where have I been?

Busy busy busy!

I have something to share and will be updating my blog each day with my training because…..
I have set myself the task of running the Auckland Half Marathon for the Guide Dogs of NZ 🙂

Here’s the link to my fundraising page:
http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/YaninaP/

See you all tomorrow!

I Love My Altras!

I bought a pair of Altra Intuition Zero Drop shoes. They are the best running shoe I have run in because the toe box is wide and my toes can finally move the way they’re supposed to! My other shoes gave me callouses on my big toe, my feet are just too wide at the toe for Sauconys. I have had my Altras for about a week now and have done three runs in them, I am definitely going to get another pair soon.

Having the correct fitting pair of shoes is a must. We all run differently, different styles, need different amounts of cushioning, do different runs, have different feet. One thing I have always noticed though is that womens running shoes tend to be narrower than my feet at the toe end. I don’t have wide feet, just they go wider at the toes, and so when I am moving they splay out even more. That probably conjures up a really funny picture right now, I am sure!

My question is to all you women runners out there, do you have the same problem? Or is it just me? Hahahaha

Have an awesome running week whatever your plans 🙂

 

Goal Setting

Have you set your 2014 fitness/running goals yet? Apart from keeping up with my running and doing races, I have also made it my mission to be able to do 10 full pull-ups by the end of this year.

It got me thinking that a good way to get to the bigger goal is to set yourself smaller ones along the way. Do a bit of backwards planning. Write down the steps needed to get you to your end goal, then set a date for achieving each one. Use the SMART formula. Celebrate your success when you achieve each step. Before you know it your ultimate goal will be achieved….and you may do it sooner than you imagined.

Why not share your fitness goal for 2014 with everyone? Once it’s out there, others can help you to achieve it. Leave a comment and share what you are aiming for 🙂

Learning to run again

When I pulled my hamstring I went to physio. There I was told I load them too much when I run and so part of my rehab was to be learning to run again. It has been an interesting and frustrating journey, but I have persevered and finally seem to be grasping the concept of this new way of running.

It started with me having to run by using my hip flexors more, bringing my knee up in front of me, which made me run on my forefoot. I went home and practised running around the dining room, and my family collapsed in laughter which me me feel really silly. Grumpily the next morning I set out for my run and felt like a horse trotting down the road. During the run my calves got really tight and uncomfortable, but each time I ran it got a little better. Until the physio said now I had to learn stage 2 of the new way of running. He had me stand holding a bar, leaning slightly forward and pawing the ground like a bull about to charge. This, he said, was called “scooping” and I had to do this while I ran. I was to start each run with 10 “scoops” on each leg. 

 

You can guess what happened next….yes, I went home and tried it and my family absolutely wet themselves, and I felt really stupid.

So the next day I went off for my run and felt like a cross between a horse and a bull and once again got very tight calves. But I kept going and over the weeks it seems to have improved. The upside is I no longer get tight hamstrings and I have successfully gone into a zero drop shoe with no problems, the downside is I can’t really switch off and just run, I still have to think about how I am running, otherwise it starts to go wrong. I think today was possibly my best effort so far as I managed to do a bit of brainstorming about 2014 work plans during my run and noticed while I was “away” I carried on “scooping”. I think the best test will be on 26 Jan at the Colour Run as there will be lots of distractions and it will be easy to forget what I should be doing and get carried away with the excitement of the event.

Happy New Year!

As 2013 draws to a close I have to reflect on a very busy and at times stressful year. But I got through it, and kept on running no matter what happened….spider bites, moving cities……I am ready for whatever the New Year brings me.

So to everybody out there, here’s to a fantastic 2014!

“May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.”

See you next year 🙂

Back from the ……

No I have not disappeared or expired but have rather been suffering from a severe case of the can’t-be-arsed bug. I just realised the last time I sat down to write anything about running was on the 6 November! That was eons ago! Apologies to everyone, or the few that do follow my ramblings, and I guess sometimes this happens. So onward and upward!

It has been an interesting time during my silence and many things have happened along the way. There is too much to put down all in one go, so I am going to do it in installments. I think it will be easier this way otherwise the story will get too convoluted and confused and muddled…..

When last I left off I had just finished the Auckland Half marathon and was wallowing in the self-pity of a race not so well run. I blamed my head at the time, but after some reflection and once I had gotten over the blues, I realised it was actually bad race fuelling that did it. I had woken up at some ridiculous hour in order to catch the ferry, so breakfast was consumed at about 4.30am. Then I didn’t eat again….WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!! In all the years I have been running in events I have made sure that I fuelled properly both before and during the race. This time I did neither, where was my brain at? So really it was my head that did me in, just not the way I thought.

It has taught me a lesson though, don’t try and be smart when it comes to race day. Always follow what works, the race day is not the time to try ANYTHING new! Including the way you run…..but that is another story……